


Ling's Moving Castle

by Nahterpie



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga, Howl's Moving Castle - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Howl's Moving Castle AU, LingFan - Freeform, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Pretty much the movie but with fma characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-15
Updated: 2016-02-15
Packaged: 2018-05-20 18:48:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6021007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nahterpie/pseuds/Nahterpie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lan Fan pretends to be happy with her life, isn't that enough? Sometimes no matter how hard she tries, she just can't shake off the feeling that she was meant for more. When she's cursed by a Witch into the body of an old lady, Lan Fan seeks out a way to break the spell, but ends up with a little more than she bargained for when she finds herself in the Moving Castle of the Wizard Ling. [Fullmetal Alchemist / Howl's Moving Castle AU / Crossover] [Lingfan]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ling's Moving Castle

**Author's Note:**

> Based on an AU by @fullmemetalalchemist on Tumblr. I obviously changed some details a little from the original story of Howl's Moving Castle to fit with the fma characters better - Lan Fan works in a mask making shop rather than a hatters, and I tried hard to keep her personality mostly intact. 
> 
> I do not own Howl's Moving Castle or Fullmetal Alchemist.

Glass shuddered violently in its frame as the train rattled by. Lan Fan ignored the noise, and the thick black smoke rising past her window (the train was on time as usual) and continued moving her paintbrush delicately over a porcelain mask. She let out a small sigh as the smoke blew away, and natural light returned, leaning back in her seat and placing the mask on the table with a clink. Her desk was filled with paintbrushes of different sizes, feathers and accessories, a palette of paints and two piles of masks; one of plain white and the other a smaller pile of ones with a multitude of gaudy colours. She pushed the mask she had been working on into the finished pile and pulled out one of the plain designs to paint. 

Masquerade Balls were the height of fashion in the city, she had been told, so their ceremonial mask making shop was quickly inundated with orders for flashy, decorative ones. It would have made no financial sense to pass up this opportunity, but Lan Fan felt no pleasure in making these quickly produced, silly things over the delicate, time consuming work they used to do. Their ceremonial masks used to be of the best quality, hand crafted little works of art, but even she had to admit their orders had been slowing down recently, before the Masquerade Masks took over. She sighed again and picked up her paintbrush, but her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden shouting and giggling of the girls in the next room, and the clatter of feet on the wooden floor as they abandoned their masks to run to the window. 

"It's Ling's Castle!" One of them yelled, while another gasped and giggled girlishly. Lan Fan looked out of her window, despite herself, and caught a quick glimpse of a huge shape just disappearing behind the thick mist of the hills beyond the town. "Look there! It has to be - oh, no, it's just gone behind the mist..." There was a collective groan of disappointment.

"You know what they say about the Wizard Ling don't you? He'll eat anything, but he especially loves to eat the hearts of pretty girls!" They all giggled again and she heard the scrape of chair legs on the floor as they retook their seats. "Well a man like that can eat my heart any day."

"Rebecca, you don't even know what he looks like."

"He's mysterious and powerful, not to mention he has his own place... He sounds attractive enough to me!" The girls lapsed into laughter again, and Lan Fan tried to turn her attention back to her task, even though the silence in her room only accentuated the sound of the girls enjoying themselves as they worked next door.

Lan Fan peeked through her open doorway at the workers, smiling and chatting about Ling as they painted and glued, and placed her own mask and paintbrush back down on the desk. She couldn't concentrate. After a quick check in the mirror, and a small frown at the reflection of the plain girl with the plain clothes and hair tied up in a bun looking back at her, she walked past the other girls and out of the shop. Besides, she had an errand to run in the town anyway.

\-------

It wasn't necessarily a long trip into the main part of town, but Lan Fan didn't make it very often. At least there was a convenient tram service nearby, but it didn't stop where it usually would, and she marvelled at the crowds of people lining the streets. Some kind of parade? With some disappointment she got off the little tram and opened a small piece of paper from her pocket. The tram had stopped in a place she wasn't familiar with, due to the road closures, and the celebrations also meant her main route was cut off, but at least she had some hastily written road names and a crudely drawn map to help her get to her destination. Lan Fan looked around and back at the piece of paper in her hands. Her only option was the back streets. 

It wasn't long before she regretted her decision. Maybe she should have just pushed her way through the crowds anyway, and tried her luck. The back streets were increasingly deserted, and the fully armed and uniformed soldiers were making her nervous as they eyed her suspiciously when she passed. The scruffy map was of little use and Lan Fan glanced at it often as she walked quickly, trying to make sense of the scratchy lines and winding streets, hoping to see a street name she recognised. With another look down at her hands she twisted to the side while she walked and only realised somebody was in her way when she bumped into a sturdy uniformed chest. 

"Oh, um, excuse me." She muttered without looking up, trying to move around the solider and not let on how flustered was. She felt on edge without knowing why - surely the soldiers were the good guys? Before she could get far another soldier approached and tilted his cap up to get a better look at her.

"Well, what have we got here?" The first one said in a silky voice that made her cringe. 

"Looks like we've caught ourselves a little mouse." The other added with a smile, moving closer. 

"Excuse me. I'm just passing through." Lan Fan straightened up and tried to put on an air of confidence she didn't feel, but shrank back slightly as the first soldier smiled.  
"I think our little mouse looks scared - must be your moustache, it always scares all the pretty girls." They both chuckled.

"Well I think she looks even cuter when she's scared." Lan Fan could feel herself tensing up, as she realised the position she was in. There was nobody around these back streets, and she could still hear the distant celebrations. She hadn't told anyone from the shop where she was going. Nobody would hear her. Nobody would come for her...... No. No, she would fight them before she let anything happen. Her dark eyes narrowed, but before anyone could move she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and a body move beside her. (Another soldier?) She was surprised, but for some reason the gesture didn't feel threatening at all. 

"Ahh there you are, sorry I'm late. You know, I've been looking everywhere for you." At the sound of the newcomer's calm but playful voice, Lan Fan finally looked up at him. He was taller than her, with black hair tied into a ponytail and his long bangs left to fall out in front of one side of his face, his clothing was a bright gold and white, which should have looked tacky but suited him quite well, and he wore bright crystal earrings that glinted in the sunlight as he moved. His dark eyes were very narrow, almost appearing to be shut closed, but his expression was bright, almost cheerful, and it offset the harshness of them.

"Hey, hey! We're busy here." The first soldier took a step forward but the man beside her seemed unconcerned.

"Oh are you? I'm pretty sure you were about to leave." The odd man waved a hand up and Lan Fan looked in fascination as they both snapped to attention with alarm, and then with another wave the two soldiers marched quickly away with jerky steps.

Lan Fan looked back up at her rescuer, and he smiled warmly. She had so many questions she wanted to ask him, but they died in the back of her throat as he took her arm like a gentleman and began walking.

"So, where are we headed?" He asked nonchalantly with a smile, either not seeing her utter confusion or ignoring it. 

They walked together for a brief moment, her head swimming with even more questions, until he leaned close to her ear. "Don't look now, but we're being followed," he breathed, "sorry, guess I got you involved."


End file.
